As protests rage in all 50 states in defense of Black lives, we recognize the failures of the State of Tennessee to make the state parks safe and accessible for Black residents. In the Tennessee State Parks Vision and Values Statement, it is stated: “We so value [our natural and cultural resources] that we intend to preserve and protect them, even in the face of whatever may be the fashion of the moment, to the end that all citizens, rich or poor, may enjoy them forever.”

We reject the claim that Black citizens of Tennessee, rich or poor, could ever enjoy Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park. Prior to the Civil War, Nathan Bedford Forrest made money as a slave trader. During the Civil War, he committed heinous war crimes, including the massacre of hundreds of Black soldiers who had surrendered at Fort Pillow. He founded and was the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, a vicious and hateful white supremacist organization which has terrorized and murdered Black Americans since its inception. 

The fact that this state park has honored Nathan Bedford Forrest since 1929, through the Civil Rights Movement, and up to today constitutes a clear endorsement by the State of Tennessee of this ugly and violent legacy. It sends a powerful message to both residents and out-of-state visitors that the State of Tennessee is blind to the needs and generational pain of its Black citizens. And the persistence of this name acts in direct contradiction to the stated Mission and Values of the Tennessee State Parks.

The historic argument against removing Confederate names from monuments is that the Confederacy is a cultural legacy in the South that should be remembered despite the pain and dissonance it raises for citizens of all races. We contend that history will not change when we stop honoring its most hateful actors. The Vision and Values statement seeks to defend our historic parks from the whims of fashion. I hope you agree that ensuring the safety of Black citizens is more than just a fashion trend.